Trust, and a Whole Other Kind of Love
by impartofthefandom
Summary: "For any relationship, there must first be trust. Absent, and the two have nothing more than a void between them. Trust is often taken for granted; people don't know the weight it truly has. To trust someone with your life is very rare, Sokka." "What you and Toph have, the love you share, is something utterly unique. It is not one of a couple or of a family; it is so much more."
1. Chapter 1

**Trust, and a Whole Other Kind of Love**

**Chapter 1**

* * *

><p>Loud sounds were emitting from a vast land in the east side of the Earth Kingdom. Sifu Beifong and her students were practicing a basic metalbending form: moving a coin.<p>

Her new students were nowhere near bending the circular objects she provided, despite it being 2 weeks since they first started. Frankly, she didn't have much patience with anyone; that included her recruits.

Just as she was about to give her pupils another ear-splitting lecture, heavy footsteps came from the other side of the clearing, disrupting her focus.

"Do you _always_ have to lift your feet like that every time you walk? It's a wonder the earth's never shaken because of those big feet of yours," she remarked without even facing the person.

Some of the students snickered. Entertainment while training with _the _Beifong was rare; it only usually happened when _he_ was around.

"Comment on my feet all you want, Toph. Someday, these feet will be walking all over you!" he countered.

"Oh! Please save me, I'm _so_ scared!" she scoffed. "Yeah, like that'll ever happen."

"Whatever," he dismissed their previous conversation with a simple wave of his hand, eager to finish what he came here for. "Anyway, Katara just finished cooking up dinner. I thought I might call you first since you must be starving; I know I am."

Murmured "aw's" came from the girls behind the talking duo; the guys just stood there, expressions stoic, though mentally taking notes for later use: they all knew Sokka was a lady's man and had his way with girls.

"Thanks, Meathead," she said, punching him roughly on the arm, "I didn't know you had a heart in you."

He rubbed his arm before saying, "Haha, very funny, _Princess_."

Toph shot him a death at the sound of the nickname, but decided to get back at him later.

Expecting some sort of blow, Sokka was surprised when she replied, "But I can't. I'll just catch up with you later, okay? Still need to teach these lily-livers a thing or two. I—"

"—_You_, need a break. Come on, you've been out here since we arrived. Can't you spare even a minute to eat? _To eat?_ Toph, be reasonable: it's _food_ for Spirit's sake!" he argued, kneeling down in front of her, pulling on her shirt, and whining like a spoiled child. "Please, for me?" When she raised an eyebrow, he quickly added, "You know how hungry I get after a long ride of Appa!"

"Fine, you brat! Just get up already." She turned to hide the creeping blush on her cheeks.

_Please, for me?_

_You know I'd do anything for you, Stupid! _she thought to herself as she tried to maintain composure.

He got up and brushed the dirt off his pants, contentedly grinning at his _well-earned_ achievement.

"We'll get going as soon as—" she began, but was cut off by a hand clapped to her mouth. Her words became muffled as she made her protests.

"Now you guys better get back there while I handle Chief Bossy over here, okay?" he winked at them, his one arm used to cover Toph's mouth while the other was wrapped around her waist in a comfortable manner. "Now skidaddle! She bites!"

The students laughed heartedly as they ran off to the campsite, calling out their thanks to Sokka once they entered the grove of trees.

Both didn't even realize how close they were to one another; their bodies pressed together. It may or may not have been for the fact that they've been like this with each other for a good number of years, that neither one seemed to notice. This neutral obliviousness included the blind earthbender who had a certain liking to the Water Tribesman that may or may not have subsided over the years.

As he was about to release her mouth, he felt her foot step on his and screamed in agonizing pain. She was strong, and did always have a knack of making him suffer.

Hoping on one foot, he exclaimed, "Toph! What the Ravaa was that for?"

"What do you think, Stupid? I told you never to do that again!" she had her arms crossed on her chest, hip bent to the side a little, and a barely noticeable smug smirk on her face.

Still on one foot, head arched to the right a bit, he thought, _Huh, she kinda looks pretty that way._

His eyes widened and he almost toppled over. _Wait, what! What the Spirits did I just think about?_

"—Snoozles… Snoozles? Snoozles!" her voice made him perk up and mumble incoherent syllables. "Were you even listening?"

"Uh…"

She groaned. "You're hopeless." Toph picked up her green duffle bag, the one she's been using all these years, and started gathering the things they were using for training.

"Hey, I'm sorry, okay? Can we _please_ go now?" he tugged on her insistent arm.

"Look, I'm trying to be responsible here and clean up this mess."

This took him aback. His expression suddenly changed to one of knowing amusement. He scoffed and mused, "Since when did you _ever_ try to be _responsible_? I'm sorry, but I don't think the name _Toph _and _responsible_ can go in the same sentence without having a_ not_ in the middle."

When she didn't answer, or even have the slightest reaction, he knew something was up.

"Come on, Toph. You know I can see right through you."

She grunted and dropped her belongings.

"What's wrong?" he placed a hand on her shoulder and was surprised when she didn't shrug it away.

Stressed, she pinched the bridge of her nose, something she rarely did because it was part of Katara's frequent actions. "Ugh, I don't even know what to do with them anymore."

He knew all he needed to know in one vague sentence. He knew that, despite wanting to boss people around as a first reason for starting the Academy, a small part of Toph wanted to see if she didn't mess up once some big responsibility was dawned upon her. He knew that she didn't want to be like her parents, despite having reconciled with them two years ago. He knew that every time she would be in charge of something, even as simple as being the leader, Toph would remember her past situation with her parents and use that as motivation to keep fighting and not mess a single thing up. He knew that, despite being harsh on her students, she didn't want them to hate her or lose their respect for her. He also knew that, if Toph failed with her students, she would feel as if it was her parents failing on her all over again. She didn't want to fail anybody and let them feel the pain she felt all those years ago.

Sokka really wanted to lighten the mood up a bit; he got behind her and started rubbing her back in circles with his thumbs. She tensed up for a moment before relaxing and giving into his actions, even craning her neck a bit for further access.

The warrior chuckled as he voiced out his other thoughts, "Wow, you must be really strained to let me do this."

"Haha," she said with much sarcasm. "This group's worse than the last. And we even had Psycho Girl that time, remember?"

"How could I forget? She kept throwing those coins at me like I was some target; I still have the scar on my forehead," he recalled unpleasantly.

"That's because you _are_ an easy target," she couldn't help but add, out of habit. "It was so easier last time, though."

"It's because I was there to help you, huh?" he said suggestively, moving his eyebrows up and down, although know very well she couldn't see it.

"You say that as if I can't teach my students without you."

"You weren't able to teach them this time, right?" She snickered as he took his hands off her back and flexed them in the air. "I am Sokka, Motivation Bender!"

"Well then, Mr. Motivation Bender, let's get back before the lovebirds and dunderheads eat all the meat, shall we?" she was honestly getting hungry herself too, the sound from her stomach confirmed that.

_The fixing would have to wait, then. _she thought

Besides, she never really enjoyed picking up after anyone, even herself.

_That's sugarqueen's job, not mine, _she thought. _Eh, I could ask her to do it later. She'd refuse, but end up doing the job anyway._

Both were pleased that the mood had lightened up, but other than that, Sokka just beamed at the mention of food. He walked up beside her, heading towards the grove of trees that separated them from the campsite. Putting an arm around her shoulders—another gesture which she didn't shake off, to his surprise once again—he looked at her with concerned eyes. "Are you seriously okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Stop being a worry-puss like your sister. Doesn't suit you."

He put a hand up in surrender. "Okay, okay, just trying to be a good best friend here."

"Who said you were my best friend?" she loved when they joked around; they rarely got to do it anymore.

"You just did," he was grinning so much it looked like the gesture hurt. He took her nose between his two fingers and pinched them in a teasing way.

Toph smirked as they walked together in sync, satisfied with the way things had been going on.

To both their misfortunes, though, the blind girl failed to notice the addition of human vibrations being sent out from the clearing.

* * *

><p>"Ah!" a female voice screamed.<p>

"Katara!" a countering male voice called.

* * *

><p>Only when she and Sokka came into the midst of the action, did Toph's sensed heightened. Her suspicions were proved to be accurate not a second after.<p>

"We're under acttack!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: This story was supposed to be a oneshot; a handwritten plot made up in the midst of a boring day at school. But everything doesn't always turn out as we expect it to, does it?**

**I have the story done and finished on paper. It's acceptably short (an intended oneshot as I said) and will not be even half as lengthy as my other fanfic, _Right Decisions,_ which I'm currently working on.**

**This fic wasn't at all intended for other human eyes to be seen. But after being quite satisfied with how it turned out in the end, I think it deserves a better and well-written narration than it originally had. **

**I doubt that any of you would find this first chapter intriguing, and may not want to continue with it. I won't make any promises, as I am not aware of your interests in relation to a story line. But I can say that it gets better (although I admit that I am utterly terrible in writing action scenes).**


	2. Chapter 2

**Trust, and a Whole Other Kind of Love**

**Chapter 2**

* * *

><p>The events that followed were nothing but a blur.<p>

Rocks were already flying through midair; whips of fire being shot left and right, the heat of the blaze burning oxygen in the atmosphere.

Toph ducked her head just in time to avoid a boulder being thrown at her skull; she whipped her body in a twist, bending her knees and arching forward. Bringing her arms and body upward, she created a deep hole in the ground, into which the moving figures fell. She brought her hands in a twisting motion, closing up the hole; only bothering to leave a small space for air ventilation.

A piercing sharp metal cut a gash on her upper left arm. Her instincts told her it came from the air—if someone directed it at her, she would have felt the vibrations and the impurity of the metal. The sound of a blade whipping right past her ear made her twist as an impulse. Unsure of what could come next, she used her voice to call out to the only person she could rely on.

"Sokka!"

* * *

><p>Coughing from the smoke that covered the air, the metalbending students swatted what air they could with their hands.<p>

They were taken aback by a wave of earth, falling on their backsides.

"What do we do?" Yen cried out to her comrades. She felt arms hoist her up; her legs were wobbly due to the impact. As she got to feet, no longer shaking, she had to force her eyes to adjust to the surroundings.

Dust and earthly air covered the atmosphere, shielding anything from the group's line of sight. Shouts, grunts, and rumbles could be heard from the other side. There were incoherent callings of names and orders, all piling up as noise in their ears.

Out of nowhere, a ball of fire was blasted from their east. They merely had time to evade the blaze.

"Ugh!" Lu clutched her burning shin, observing the torn cloth of her outfit and the searing red of her skin.

"We have to get out of here!" the man was about to get a move on when he felt the grip on his collars and being hoisted back.

"What in Spirit's name is wrong with you, Ching! There's a fight going on and you choose to run? What kind of a person are you!" Shi shouted.

"Easy for you to say—you're the top of this class! You think I want to get burned or swallowed up by the earth? If you want to come out with a broken limb on such, be my guest!"

"Why you—"

"You guys!" Liu pushed the two apart.

"Come on! Hasn't Sifu Toph taught us anything?" Shi encouraged after shoving Liu away. "It's been so long and we haven't even made any progress! There's an attack and this might be our chance to prove we're worth something!"

"But how—ah!" Yen tumbled under the debris of rocks. "We haven't even learned metalbending!"

"We know how to _earthbend_, dammit! Don't act like such cowards! Sifu Toph, Master Sokka, Master Aang, and Master Katara are out there right now fighting those bastards! We can't just sit here and watch—who knows what might happen! All I know is that they're fighting their butts off right now and we should be helping them! These people are nothing but a bunch of benders who are stupid enough to attack on the greatest benders in the world! Th—" an arrow landed just milimeters away from his foot. He stopped his speech and caught a glimpse of something in the tress. "Oh, forget it! Are you with me or what?"

The rest of the group nodded and formed a tight circle, bodies facing outwards.

* * *

><p>"You alright there?"<p>

"Yeah."

The avatar and master waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe were in their fighting positions.

The 19-year-old master had a long whip of soup water ready for use in the air. Their

Boiling soup was the closest source of water she could find, for the air had been too humid to be able to gather water.

A twig cracked behind her and she whipped back, trapping the body of the one who'd sneak up behind her. It was an earthbender. Practicing caution, she his whole lower body in an ice belt, his hands trapped on his sides. He struggled with getting free.

With a nod of her head, she motioned for Aang to open the hole they used to keep their attackers in and dumped him inside. Before anyone could escape, he closed it up and went back to fighting.

They had immobilized each bender in either an ice or an earth belt to keep them from using their bending. This practice was done every time they got into a situation like this. The attackers should've had a reason to engage in fighting; Team Avatar wouldn't be able to find out what that reason was if they were gone or dead. The latter would only be done in drastic times; they all did their best to avoid losing anyone's life.

As the fight continued on, their bodies were accumulating more cuts and bruises. A blade was directed near Katara's face. It played with one of her hair loopies before chopping it off.

She used to fist to jab the man's side. With her foot, she kicked the his shin and he fell on his rear behind. The contact he made was just in time for the earth to swallow him up. He was a non bender so neither the two made any effort to immobilize him.

The avatar was on the verge of entering the avatar state. He was throwing chuncks of rocks, balls of fire, tunnels of air, and ice crystals in all different directions. He wasted no time in aiming on his targets, for the amount of people that surrounded him seemed to be growing despite their attempts.

Eyes starting to be filled with that familiar glow, Aang was about to lash out an undeniable force of bending when—

"Uh, uh, uh, Avatar. I don't think you want to do that."

He turned to the voice and saw Katara with her hands and feet bound, mouth covered with a cloth. The man speaking had a sword with him and used it to point at the two archers who had their arrows directed at Katara's heart and skull.

Aang's eyes widened at the sight.

* * *

><p>"Toph! What's wrong? Are you hurt?" Sokka had fought all he could to get to his best friend the second he heard his name.<p>

Since the earthbender didn't feel anymore metal piercing through her skin, she was able to fight of the lot of the people that were stationed with her. But somehow, she couldn't help but feel unsettled by the fact.

"I don't know. Something's wrong, I'm sure of it," she stated as she got into her regular position with Sokka.

Over the years, they had gotten into forming this position every time they fought. It was somewhat an instinct of theirs, even the first time. Their backs were pressed against one another as they slowing revolved in a circle, being alert of any attacks coming from any direction.

Neither knew why, but they both had a sense of protection over the other. They trusted one another enough to watch each other's back without even the slightest hesitation. And without even saying anything, they knew each other's next move, and what their thoughts were. That's how far their bond for each other went.

"Through the air?" he questioned, for the first time taking sight of the cut on her arm.

"Yes," she confirmed.

As if on cue, another arrow was flying and twisting through the air, aimed at the duo. Thanks to Sokka's quick instincts, he caught sight of it just on the corner of his eyes. It was heading towards her midsection.

All too fast, he pivoted her body so it barely missed the weapon. Tables turned when Toph felt more vibrations coming near them, but not exactly in their way. Both kept their senses alert. Two arrows came forth this time and Sokka pressed Toph against his chest and pulled them both onto the grown, missing the weapon's line of range.

The earthbender saw someone form a bending stance using her vibrations. The feet of the person were firmly planted to the ground, his arms raising. Anticipating the next move, she opened the earth beneath him and trapped him waist down. This proved to make things only worst when a the intended flying boulder was sent towards them, shooting through the air, merely above the ground.

In an attempt to block the rock, Toph stood and outstretched her hands forward, awaiting the impact. Since it was not in contact with the earth, she couldn't see what angle it went, but she hoped for the best.

It happened in an instant; the next thing she knew, a force hit her abdomen out of nowhere and sent her flying to a tree. Her back had the receiving end and she bet she had cracked a bone or two. He arms fell limp to her sides as rolled down the earth. She clutched her pained spot and motioned to sit up, ignoring the throbing.

Hands were around her neck in a flash. Her feet were barely touching the ground and she could feel the heat of fire radiating just near her cheek.

"Got hit, huh, _honey_? Don't worry, you won't feel anything in no time," the firebender said mockingly, tightening his grip on her throat.

Her hands went to her neck in an attempt to free herself from the man's grasp. It was suffocating; she would stop breathing in no time.

"Don't you dare call her that!" Sokka demanded as he got to his feet and charged for the firebender.

He shifted his sword for easier use and made a long slit along the man's arm. Not so deep as to cut the thing off, but enough to make blood spritz from it. The bender let go of his grasp to clutch his bleeding arm. The warrior punched the man's face with all his might and sent the guy tumbling and staggering back.

Toph slid roughly down the tree; she choked on air and coughed violently, trying to get the circulation back in her lungs. Sokka rushed to her side immediately and asked if she was okay. She replied with a nod, and that was all he needed.

Anger boiling up inside of him, he approached the bleeding man with a sword in hand, eyes blazing with rage.

_No one hurts Toph and gets away with it._

_No one hurts Toph period._

_This bastard will pay for what he's done to her._

Having an idea of what he'd do next, Toph motioned to stop him, but the pain in her ribs and abdomen prevented her from moving the slightest bit.

"You think it's funny?" Sokka asked loudly, voice oozing with fury. He lifted his foot and placed it on the man's chest, stopping him from escaping. "You think it's funny to hurt her like that? To call her _honey_? Well let me tell you right here and now that I will _never_ let anything or _anyone_ hurt her. And guess what—you just crossed the line, buddy."

The firebender writhed beneath the Water Tribesman. The attacker spit blood on his side and grinned mischievously.

Sokka raised his sword, tip pointing towards the heart of the enemy. But to both Toph's and the firebender's surprise, the non bender used his foot to kick the consciousness out of him instead.

With a heavy sigh, he turned his face to his best friend. The smile on his face vanished when an arrow shot through his shoulder.

"Noooooooo!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Trust, and a Whole Other Kind of Love**

**Chapter 2**

* * *

><p>Sokka's body hit the ground with a thump. His lifeless arms bounced a few times before coming to rest by his shoulder. He had his head tilted unceremoniously to the side; the vision in his eyes blurring as the seconds passed.<p>

Somewhere distant, he could make out a familiar voice calling his name. All the sounds around him were muffled, and he could somehow feel the vibrations the ground made. For some reason, he couldn't understand anything that was happening at the moment. He could only feel a faint pain in his shoulder, just past the bone in his neck. There was an atmospheric feel of danger around, but he could no longer meddle on the idea as his thoughts turned black. He unconsciously muttered, "Toph," before he lost all awareness.

Just hearing her name escape his lips was enough to fuel the fire within her. Moments ago, her body was frozen in place; none of her senses were working. Although she knew she had to do something quick, her muscles weren't reacting to what her mind so wanted to do.

The motions around her seemed to slow down, almost coming to a stop. All she could feel was his silhouette and the faint beating of his heart. Everything in her focused on those two things; the outside world was nothing but a stranger to her.

Then, he spoke, and everything came back to place. The pain in multiple parts of her body was no longer there, nothing but the scars and bruises to remind her of their visit.

Two more men were coming for her, and she knew she had to act quickly. Her first instinct was to fight them off with all her might, but that would make Sokka defenseless against all odds. For now, he was her first priority. He was a good couple of feet away from her, and she needed to get to him as soon as possible.

As the two men charged for her from different directions, she slipped under them just in time. Unfortunately, the two attackers anticipated that move from her. They made a swift grab of her feet before she could scurry away.

Toph felt strong grips on both her ankles, pulling her to the tree once again. She reacted immediately and twisted her body, so that her back was the one in contact with the ground. Getting fistfuls of earth from both her sides, she threw the rocks towards their faces; her aim was perfect. They were blinded for a second; she used that time to wiggle free from their grips and take a proper stance. Once she was balanced, she brought her hands away from each other, and lifted them in the air. The two men were now trapped in her special earth-coned prison—the one she always used with Sokka and the others.

_Sokka_.

She remembered him in an instant and came rushing to his side. She stood above him, a tear threatening to fall down her cheek.

"You idiot," she murmured, shaking her head, "always trying to be the hero."

Toph slammed her feet on the floor and created a foggy view around them. She made sure that the dust would cover them for a while. Her fist made contact with the ground as 4 earth walls emerged, protecting them in all sides except for the top—they needed to breathe, after all.

Twisting her arms in open, fluid motions, she turned the hard ground into a soft bed for Sokka. She put his arms gently to his sides, and placed him in a comfortable position; she knew he didn't want to wake up with sore muscles.

In her mind, she knew this was all her fault. It was her fault Sokka had all these cuts and bruises. It was her fault he was shot in the shoulder. Even if she couldn't feel anything in the trees, she should've _tried_. She should've tried to save him. Deep in her heart she knew that nothing was impossible, and that if she wasn't so selfish—if she hadn't been mourning over her own pains—this wouldn't have happened to him.

He always got hurt because of her, and she was tired of it. She promised herself not so long ago that Sokka would never get hurt because of her; in fact, she promised herself that _no one_ would get hurt because of her. She didn't want to be the cause of other's pains, especially her best friend's; but, so far, she hadn't lived up to that promise.

Unconsciously, she caressed his cheek with her calloused hand. Something told her that Sokka wouldn't really mind. They weren't lovers, but they were so much more than best friends. If honest, Toph didn't know how she felt about Sokka. She knew she used to have a crush on him, though it had evolved into so much more that she didn't know what to call it anymore.

So far, Sokka hadn't told her anything about his feelings, but she somehow knew he felt the same. He and Suki were still a couple, and she could tell he cared deeply for his girlfriend and vice versa. When they were still quite young, she used to feel jealous of Suki's relationship with Sokka, but through the years, she learned to respect the warrior, and accept reality. If she was asked what her relationship with Sokka was—they've often been mistaken as a couple—she'd usually answer that they were just simply best friends; but they both knew better. For some reason, it was a mutual and unspoken agreement that their relationship with each other best be left undefined. They both knew most things are broken when one puts a label on it.

Through the years, they've learned to welcome what they had without any questions. They didn't avoid the topic, though when they _would_ talk about it, they usually didn't come up with a suitable result. They decided it is best left as it is: a mystery; but that surely wouldn't stop them from bringing up the subject every once in a while.

Her fingers reached his forehead and she realized that he was burning up. Her face scrunched up in thought.

_What was in that arrow?_

Almost reflexively, she brought her ears to his chest.

_Thump… Thump… Thump…_

Eyebrows knit together, she brushed the inside of her ear before listening once again.

_Thump… Thump… Thump…_

She wasn't mistaken. His heartbeat _had_ become slower since she last checked. His breathing seemed normal, but she could never be too careful. Toph knew what might come next, but she refused to even think about the possibility. Two lines of tears raced down her face; she made no move to stop them. She knelt down beside the bed she made for Sokka, her right arm draped across his chest.

"You're okay, you're okay. Just hang in there, okay? Everything's going to be fine, I promise," she assured, more of to herself than to him.

With two gentle pats to his chest, and a quick kiss to his forehead, Toph rose from her knees. She wiped her tear-stained face and readied her battle stance.

"Let's do this!" She jumped and slammed her feet and fists to the ground. The walls around her fell back to the ground and the dust cleared away. The racket she made cause the fight around her to cease. All eyes were on her; a malicious smirk crept into her face.

* * *

><p>The waterbender held her water whip as she heard a loud bang. This gave her rival a chance to catch her off-guard. Attempting to plummet her sword towards the master's chest, the non-bender charged forward, twisting her blade.<p>

Her effort proved to be futile when a strong wind blew the sword out of her hands. She grunted and looked at the responsible Avatar right before she was put under the ground.

The sound of wind was enough to bring Katara back to her senses. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," answered Aang.

Another loud bang was heard around the clearing.

"Say, do you hear that? What is it?" His mind was filled with questions, though he was alert and didn't let his guard down.

"I don't k—" her sentence was cut short was she saw Toph in her stance—she looked so different for some reason—and her brother unconscious on a rock bed. A gasp escaped her lips. Tears fell quickly down her face as she thought and shook her head.

_Sokka. My brother. What happened?_

"Oh no," she heard Aang mutter from behind her.

* * *

><p>"Where are they coming from?" Yen shouted amidst the noise. "We've fought so many, yet there's always more! "<p>

The students were still situated in a circle. It wasn't as strong as it was a couple hits ago, no, it had become floppy and disorganized.

Shi wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand. He looked around and saw that everyone had their hands on their knees, sweating, and panting heavily.

_They keep on coming… I don't know if we're going to be able to hold them off much longer… _he thought. _If only… there was some sort of distraction… then we would be able to take them down easily. But, with everyone in a state like this, with new attackers coming out from every direction every minute, we don't stand a chance._

He heard a strained and harsh coughing from his right. Shi didn't dare look at the person; he was too worried he might lose his focus.

"Are you okay?" he called to whoever was coughing.

Ching gasped as Lu fell into his arms. He was positioned beside her and saw the blood that came out of her mouth when she coughed. He couldn't help a gasp as she lost consciousness. Slowly, with the help of Xi, he was able to carry her on his back.

"Lu's down! She's unconscious!" the boy said, as he struggled to keep up with the weight on his back.

"What the Spirits happened?" Shi still refused to look behind him. Attackers could come at any minute. He anticipated another 30 seconds before the next attack, since it's been about a minute since one came.

"I don't know! But we have to do something!" Ching was genuinely concerned for Lu. Even though she was always a pain in the butt during training, always goofing around and stealing food from their bags, she was always fun to have around; he would never admit such a thing, though.

"What do we do?"

"Yeah, Shi! What do we do?"

"Come on!"

"Lu's unconscious! We have to help her!"

"This was your idea!"

"This is your fault!"

"We should've escaped when we had the chance!"

"We should've never listened to you!"

All these remarks were thrown at Shi at the same time. His ears had their voices bouncing of the walls, echoing in his head. Just when someone was about to throw another insult at him, Shi had enough.

"Will you guys just shut the Ravaa up?" he exploded at them, finally facing his comrades. "I have no idea what the Spirits happened to Lu, so don't keep throwing your problems at me! I know this is all my fault, but I don't see any of you thinking of anything! You're all just a bunch of cowards! At least I tired to help! At least I fought! I know that the attackers keep on coming out of nowhere, but I don't control their numbers! Don't blame me if they keep on coming! Our job here is to try and help the Masters! Now will you all just shut up so I can think of something?"

This was able to shut everyone up. They had these unknown looks on their faces that Shi couldn't decipher. He brushed their looks off and pondered about the situation.

_If we leave now we'll probably all be safe,_ he thought. _But then the Masters wouldn't have any help. And by the looks of how many their numbers are, the Masters will need all the help they can get. Lu's unconscious. She can't fight. If we leave now, we might be able to help her. If we don't, well we can't just leave her like that. We could go and hide deep in the forest. But then there's the possibility of being attacked in the forest too. If ever, we have more of an advantage here since it's open. The _attackers_ could be hiding in the trees for all we know. Yes, it's best to stay here. But what about Lu then?_

His mind kept racing from one subject to the other. It was as if there were two forces in himself opposing one another. After almost 20 seconds of thinking, Shi was able to come up with a plan he thought would work.

"Okay, guys, listen up. The next wave of attacks will be here in about 20 seconds max. Here's what we have to do: Ching, bring Lu away from here, but not so deep into forest. Xi and Bao, go with them and make sure they don't get hurt. Ching, you have to make a sort of underground earth tent so Lu can lay there, but make sure the both of you can breath properly. You two guard that earth tent, okay? The rest of us will stay here. We have to keep on fighting. Got it?" Shi said in a rush. He was answered with nods from everyone. "Okay, now go!"

The three, along with Lu, began to race out of the clearing, but before they could get any further, more attackers came. Then just when the fight was about to resume, a boom was heard and everyone turned their heads towards its origin.

What they saw surprised them. They couldn't register what happened, but by the look on their Sifu's face, they knew all of hell was about to break loose.

* * *

><p>"Ahhh!"<p>

All eyes were on her as she moved faster than deemed possible. With various and complex forms, she was able to knock out a group of earthbenders and trap them underground in an instant. Her body seems so fluid and graceful, yet she had the aura and rage of a firebender. As if the attacks were nothing to her, she dodged the rocks, fire, and blades. Even if they were continuously attacker her in sync, she managed to evade every single one of their hits.

The men and women that were fighting off Aang, Katara, and the metalbending students rushed off to help their comrades in the battle between the blind earthbender.

The Avatar and his subordinates could do nothing but stand in awe as they saw Toph single-handedly taking down a whole army. They knew she was acting in a blind rage, and they could see why.

"Don't you think we should help her?" Katara asked her boyfriend.

"I don't think so. We might just get in the way. I've never seen Toph like this before. I think it's best to let her have her way for now," he replied.

As if hearing their conversation from afar, Toph shouted through the battle, "What are you waiting for, Katara? Sokka's unconscious! What the Spirits are you just standing there for?" Her voice sounded undeniably angry to most people, but her two friends knew that hurt in her words. If one listened close enough, he would hear the sound of genuine fear off her voice. It wasn't obvious, though, for the look of rage plastered in her face.

Katara nodded to Aang before running towards the fight. She was worried about her brother, but she was worried about Toph too. She never acted in blind anger, always thinking before acting in a fight. For some reason, Toph began to look like Zuko. Only he would act like this, and even he wouldn't go to this extent.

There were too many opponents with different kinds of weapons. It was only a matter of time when Toph would slip up—

The earthbender's horrifying laugh echoed through the clearing as a body came crashing down on hers from above. Even as she was pinned to the ground with blood coming out of her nose, Toph still continued to laugh like she was mad.

"Oh, you'll never catch me!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I can't believe I decided to continue this "one-shot" today instead of ****_Right Decisions_****. Oh, you guys are gonna kill me when I post the next chapter… **

**Which will hopefully be up by next week.(?)**

**I should've done ****_Right Decisions_**** first… I'm so stupid… Oh well…**

**Also, I hated how the last parts (after Toph's first long one, before the cut) turned out. Sucked. My writing skill always goes down hill after a cut.**

**Until next time! **

**About 2 more chapters until this "one-shot" is done, I guess. The main point will be in the next chapter while the last will just probably be supporting it, or wrapping things up. ****:)**


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